Testing

In order to ensure compliance, producers of electrical and electronic equipment covered by the scope of the RoHS Directive need to assess where and what amount of the restricted materials occur in their products and components. On a practical basis there are two sources of information:

• Materials declaration from suppliers
  (see 'Actions for complying with RoHS - Supply Chain Actions')
  
• Results from RoHS testing
  (see 'Actions for complying with RoHS - Testing for RoHS')

Testing could be done to either verify supplier declarations or to establish the presence or otherwise of the restricted substances in those cases where no declaration is available.

Producers may employ any suitable analytical technique in order to establish that their products comply with the maximum concentration values of the six restricted substances. The criteria for analysis will depend on the:

• Quantity of product put onto the market (less for small producers than for large producers).
  
• Relationship with suppliers.
  
• Risk of a banned substance being present.
  
• Potential impact of that substance on the environment.

Producers must ensure that they understand and take into account any limitations of the analytical technique they use.

This flowchart may help you decide whether or not testing is appropriate.